


mirror mirror on the wall

by saunatonttu



Category: Bravely Default (Video Game) & Related Fandoms
Genre: Drabble, Gen, Nightmares, Self-Reflection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-05
Updated: 2016-03-05
Packaged: 2018-05-24 21:55:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6168055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saunatonttu/pseuds/saunatonttu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Self-reflection isn't his thing, yet here he is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	mirror mirror on the wall

When he wakes up, it is not to his own screams. Rather, he thinks, it's the damp, gross feeling of sweat that startles his mind away from the nightmare. The feeling is exceptionally potent on his face that his long spikes of hair had covered in his sleep. Using his hand to wipe it away is no good, of course – his hands are just as sticky.

He doesn't think much as he strenuously pulls himself out of the simple bed of his apartment. There's nothing to think about; the nightmare this time was the same as all the other times too.

And he knows why he's seeing them in the first place. A long-forgotten trauma from a time when he was so young he couldn't possibly remember it.

His feet lead him to the bathroom, his fingers shakily turn on the lights.

The mirror of the closet-sized room shows just how big of a mess he is: skin pallid, eyes dark and unfocused, droplets of sweat running down his face. His hair's a mess, too, but that's the one thing he has never been able to tame. Nor does he really want to.

He washes his face with water cold enough to make even the toughest men jump away out of reflex. It either has to be ice cold or hotter than fire golem's flames for these times.

His skin stings from the water when he finishes, and he forces himself to give his reflection a crooked grin.

Some days, it's the thought of revenge that keeps him stable enough to get through the twenty-four hours. It's not a noble thing to say, but he knows there's nothing noble about revenge anyway. He may pretend there is, but he _knows_ there to be no glory to be found.

Only self-satisfaction...

...and is that so bad?

He looks away as his eyes sting with sharp-edged tears. They will redden his eyes and ride him down, but Janne Angard will not yield to them.

Just like he will not yield to the Crystalguard when the time comes.

Janne smiles, and while it sends aches into his muscles, it's already returning to what it was the previous day. That's good... wouldn't want Yew to notice anything, would he?

Running his hands through the thickets of his hair, Janne breathes in the stagnant air. Hah. Everything around him becomes like that, doesn't it? Stagnant, unable to move on if there's nothing to drive it forward.

Janne gives his hair a harsh tug. The pain the movement delivers is good enough to stir his senses and pull him back to reality _outside_ his head. Yeah. Don't go sleeping now, Janne... You've got a lot to do still before the Kaiser's time comes.

_Before your revenge comes._

One of those things is surviving what is turning out to be a real shitty morning, but if there's anything that Yew is good at, it's distracting him from the past that threatens to swallow him.

_Hah, look at you go. Growin' fond of him, are ya?_

Janne squishes the persistent thought away before he leaves the mirror and the room. Self-reflection really isn't his thing, after all.

 


End file.
